Improvement in sheet-metal cans



G. H. CHINNOCK.

SHEET-METAL cw.

No.187,Z16 Patented Feb. 13,1877.

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GEORGE H. OHINNOOK, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

IMPROVEMENT IN SHEET-METAL CANS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 187,216.

dated February 13,1877; application filed April 12,1876.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE H. CHIN- NOGK, of Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York, have invented an Improvement in Sheet-Metal Cans, of which the following is a specification:

The object of this invention is to provide a hermetically-sealed can for holding paints and other articles which shall be capable of being readily opened when desired, and which may be manufactured at a cost not appreciagly exceeding that of the ordinary tin can or To this end my invention comprises a tin can or box cover, the flange or rim of which is cut or grooved within or around its circumference in such a manner as to reduce the thickness of the metal along a circumferential line, the cover being slipped upon the body of the can in the usual manner, and the lower edge of the rim thereof being soldered to the said body, whereby the can is hermetically closed.

By pulling upon a loose end or lip provided to the lower portion of the rim aforesaid, such lower portion is stripped off, the metal yielding at the groove or cut on the one side of the strip torn off, and at the soldered seam at the other, the cover being by this means detached to permit access to the interior of the can.

The invention further comprises a sheetinetal can or box constructed with a cover, having its rim circumferentially cut or grooved partially through the thickness thereof, and with the lower or inner edge of said rim soldered to the sides or body of the can, whereby a cheap and easily-opened hermetically-sealed can is provided.

Figure l is a central longitudinal sectional view of a sheet-metal can made according to my invention. Fig. 2 is a side view of the same complete or hermetically closed. Fig. 3 is a side view of the same as partially opened.

A is the body of the can, of the usual cylindric or any other suitable form. B is the cover, provided with the rim or flange a, which, when the can is closed, is slipped or shut upon the top of the body A in the ordinary manner. At any desired place between the lower edge of this rim and the upper edge thereof, the said rim is grooved or cut partially through in a circumferential line, as indicated at G. The rim, being thus thinned or reduced in thickness along said circumferential line, is of course reduced in strength along said line, and any strain exerted to rupture the rim will, of course, follow the line of least resistance-viz, the groove or out 0.

When the rim is formed upon the cover, a lip or projection, b, is left on piece of sheet metal forming said rim, such lip or projection being continuous with that part of the rim below the cut or groove 0, but not with the part of the rim above said out or groove. The position of this lip or projection b is more fully represented in Fig. 2, the position of the groove or cut 0 being indicated in said Fig. 2 in dotted outline.

The cover being made and placed upon the body of the can, as just hereinbet'ore explained, the rim a is soldered fast at its lower edge to the body A, as indicated at f, thereby hermetically sealing the same.

In order to open the can, the lip or projection b is pulled outward, whereupon the lower part of the rim it simultaneously strips from the soldered joint 41,, and parts from the upper part of the rim along the cut or groove 0, thereby detaching the cover from the can.

It will be seen that after such detachment of the cover from the can, the outer portion of the rim remaining attached to the liat top of the cover constitutesa narrower flange, which permits the subsequent use of said cover, after the manner of an ordinary slipcover, as is frequently desirable for temporary purposes.

What I claim as my invention is- 1. A cover for tin cans or boxes, the flange or rim of which is cut or grooved within its circumference in such manner as to reduce the thickness of the metal along its circumferential line, substantially in the manner herein described, for the purpose specified.

2. A sheet-metal can or box constructed with a cover, the rim of which is soldered fast at its lower end to the body of the can or box, and the said rim grooved or partially cut through on a circumferential line, to pro vide a line of least resistance in the opening of the can or box by the detachment of the lower portion of the rim, substantially in the manner herein set forth.

GEO. H. OHINNOGK.

Witnesses:

EDWARD HOLLY,

H. WELLS, Jr.

one end of the 

